Microsoft Developing Heart Rate Monitor for Kinect?

While Microsoft might not be gearing up for a big console debut during E3 2012, they have revealed plans to focus on software/hardware related to their current pieces of tech, the Xbox 360 and Kinect. It’s still anyone’s guess as to what exactly Microsoft might be revealing during video game’s biggest expo, but a new rumor has clued us into one of those new devices.

In connection with a new “game” called Kinect Play Fit, Microsoft is rumored to be developing a heart rate monitor peripheral currently code-named Joule that will track player’s performance over a wide variety of games. Not much is known about Kinect Play Fit, like whether or not it will be Microsoft’s own brand of exercise experience, but apparently the Joule device will be a perfect answer to the gamer that uses Kinect as a source of cardio.

According to The Verge‘s sources, some sort of update will be released that will allow the Joule to track the daily performance of the player no matter what game they are playing. Plenty of Kinect titles like Kinect Sports and Dance Central require a certain amount of physical exertion, but it’s hard to know just how many calories are burned during a given play session.

E3 2012 might not be filled with the big console reveals that many were hoping for, but if rumors are to be believed it will be filled with significant improvements to the Xbox 360’s software and hardware toolset. This Joule heart rate monitor might seem gimmicky, but it could also be the sign of some more interesting things to come.

Early on, Microsoft proclaimed they weren’t interested in including peripherals for Kinect, saying that this was a controller-less motion experience, but maybe all of that has changed. Just imagine how much better something like Kinect Star Wars could have been — for the hardcore gamer that is — if the game had featured a lightsaber peripheral.

What types of experiences can you see Microsoft exploring if this Joule heart rate monitor is real? If this year’s E3 is all about Dashboard updates and new software will it be a bust for Microsoft?